Gemotions

The hospital cafeteria smelled faintly of disinfectant and stale coffee. Ava picked at her tasteless meal, the blandness mirroring the emptiness in her chest. She had the chance to see her sister, and now it was too late. The missed phone call, the ignored invitation. They seemed more important now.

She noticed a man at the next table, staring at a plate of plain mashed potatoes with obvious distaste. He pushed it away. “Ugh, the diet,” he muttered, more to himself than anyone.

Ava recognized the look, the shared frustration. “Alpha-Gal?” she asked.

The man nodded, his eyes meeting hers. “It's a bloody nuisance,” he said, his voice laced with the same subdued emotion.